However, they managed to take their time and survive. Although the slaves were ignorant, some of them were very intelligent. Although, strangely enough, some were very intelligent, “we hide it until late at night and then light a little pine torch and study that spelling book. We learn it too. Now I can read some of them and even write a little.” Being able to teach themselves to read and write without help is truly impressive and just shows how dedicated they were to learning. While some slaves became book-smart, others gave deeper insights into their lives; one slave wrote, "He delivered Daniel from the lions' den, Jonah from the belly of the whale, and the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, and why not all men?" This level of insight is rare, especially if a person is uneducated and its content reflects the situation in which this slave finds himself. They have read about all the other races, but the slave raises the question: why only a select few, why can't they? all men are